


Ludus Gia Agape

by Atulreiter



Category: Inazuma Eleven
Genre: Fluff, Hospitals, M/M, Mild Angst, Multi, Porn With Plot, Reader-Insert, Sickness, Smut, eventually, male reader - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-06-21
Updated: 2017-03-28
Packaged: 2018-07-16 08:47:01
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 3
Words: 10,456
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7260673
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Atulreiter/pseuds/Atulreiter
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>You watched the rest of the Raimon team file out of the room at the nurses’ bidding and sighed heavily. It was late and you were tired but you didn’t feel like making the trek back to your room. You were lingering on the edge of his bed, trying to work up the will to get your limbs to move when he spoke to you, “You can stay here if you like.”</p><p>You raised your eyebrows in surprise. Your expression must’ve been comical because he laughed. It was such a nice sound, prettier than even a girl’s and you tried not to fidget at the heat wave that suddenly assailed you. His eyes closed with his laughter so he didn’t see it when your own widened in surprise at the intense interest certain parts of your body had taken in him. <em>No, no, no, no. Not now. Not him.</em></p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue: Down Under

**Author's Note:**

> I'll start with the tags: they're likely to change as I progress in this story. The pairings aren't final nor are all the pairings currently listed. I do plan for this to be fairly large, so large in fact that I haven't completely finished planning out how I want it to go. That being said, there isn't a real structure to this story. It has a beginning and I know the end but the stuff in the middle is free to flow as it will. But it is a harder story to write since I'm attempting to use a very different setting for an anime centered almost entirely on a soccer field-- **updates will likely be very slow.**
> 
> There will be smut. Lots of it I think though I don't plan on this story having no plot whatsoever. I haven't decided on a final pairing yet or if there will even be one due to the nature of this story. I'm open to suggestions but I really just wanted to write a story where the main character was free to interact with as many of my favorite characters as possible without having to do so many individual AU one-shots for one great story idea. And without soccer being the entirety of their conversations. 
> 
> That being said, anyone is free to suggest something they would like to see though I can't promise it will be included. I'll try my best though. 
> 
> Well, I think I covered everything I wanted to say. If not, they'll likely show up in the footnotes. **_I do not own Inazuma Eleven or its characters_** no matter how cool they are. Thanks for checking out this story and I hope you like the beginning!

When you woke up, you kind of wished you hadn’t. The pain and discomfort crashed into you as soon as you gained a sliver of consciousness. Your head pounded in time with your heartbeat, so loud you could feel it pressing on your inner ears. You muscles felt tight and heavy and you were freezing even though you could feel sweat making your clothes—thinner than you usually wore to bed—stick to your body. You groaned.

You wished you hadn’t done that either.

A string of coughs ripped through your chest. Your lungs, already inflamed and aching, squeezed even tighter under the painful assault and you gasped. Tears pricked the corners of your eyes as you struggled to breathe. Panic stabbed through your heart as thick viscous fluid came up only to be get caught in your throat. You threw out your arms to pull yourself up into a sitting position, hoping it would help. It was an impossibly hard task with your body and muscles as weak and leaden as they were. You ended up tipping a bit further forward than you wanted. Strong steady hands stopped you from bending yourself in half. One pressed gently against your sternum and the other rubbed firmly over your back.

You squeezed your eyes shut as the last of the coughs subsided. You hadn’t succeeded in hacking up the fluid but it was too far down for you to try clearing it out. You swallowed with a grimace, stomach churning at the warm salty tang of the gooey phlegm. You collapsed with a deep breath that threatened to bring up more gunk. The hands cautiously allowed you to recline again before the one at your back withdrew. The one on your chest started running a path from your breasts to your navel and back up. The soothing motion helped slow your heart.

“It’s so much worse this time…,” Your father mumbled. You didn’t respond other than to turn over onto your side away from your parent and curl up into the thin blankets you’d been provided. The roaming hand didn’t stop for which you were thankful. His voice was harder the next time he spoke. “I don’t understand how this can be. Each time we come, you check him out, give him an x-ray, give him some medicine, and send him home only for him to end up right back here in three weeks. That’s not going to happen again. _This_ time, he’s staying here until you figure out exactly what’s wrong with him.”

“His x-rays show that his lungs are obscured and full of fluid. He has pneumoni--”

“Yes, I am well aware! It’s the same thing he’s had the last few times he was here. What I want to know is why it keeps coming back. Is it really pneumonia or is it something else?” Your nurse, you were sure that was who your father was talking to because you didn’t recognize their voice, didn’t say anything. “You’re missing something and I’ll not let him leave here until you figure it out!”

“I understand, sir, but I am not in charge of his diagnosis. Would you like to speak to the doctor? She’ll be more than happy to answer your questions but I’ll have to ask that you do so outside. [Name]-sama needs all the rest he can get.”

You were inclined to agree. You couldn’t remember how you got to Inazuma General Hospital. The last couple of days were a blur of heat, cold, pain, and dizziness. You expected the next few would be the same as well and if you could sleep through it, you would. You’d had pneumonia before and while you knew it was serious, it hadn’t felt like it in the past. Sure you coughed and had a harder time breathing but it didn’t really stop you from doing any of your daily activities. You’d always had weaker lungs that acted up on occasion. It was normal and not something you thought you had to worry about. It never felt like _this._

This was awful. This felt like you were going to cough up your lungs, melt into a puddle of mess, and freeze over before you managed to wither away into nothingness. You hoped they managed to figure out what was wrong with you so that you never had to feel like this again.

You drifted in and out of consciousness—or maybe you went to sleep and woke up an indiscernible number of times in as many days, you didn’t know. Sometimes you were shivering all over as if your very bones had been turned to ice. It was an inescapable chill that no blanket nor heater could put an end to. Other times you were panting under the constant heat that made your blood boil. Hunger interrupted you on occasion but you couldn’t recall ever eating. Nausea was a constant deterrent for food though none of those things seemed to bother you this time. This time, when you drifted from your blissful darkness was the best and you felt well enough to do more than just groan and moan and cough up foam.

You sat up and looked around you. The walls were yellow but they looked closer to white with how dim the room was. The fluorescents were off and the only source of light was from the huge window to the left of you and even that was hindered by thick curtains. A few particularly strong rays managed to cast your room in a cold blue light but there wasn’t much to see. Your whole area was surrounded by curtains and you didn’t dare move from the bed to open them lest you disturb the wires connected to you. You didn’t know what they did and you didn’t want to accident muck something up. You’d never stayed in a hospital room before. Usually you were treated through emergency care where they just separated everyone with thin curtains. The last time you were here you technically had a room you shared with someone but it was only long enough for you to take a few x-rays. You hadn’t even needed to change your clothes. Now you looked down at yourself and found you were wearing a cotton light blue long-sleeve button up and matching pants down to your ankles. Your legs were covered with one standard hospital blanket but someone had guessed correctly that it wouldn’t be enough and piled on three other thin sheets over top. You had two extra pillows lining the sides of your bed, creating the cocoon you liked to sleep in when you were at home. Off to the sides were two nightstands. One held a cup with a toothbrush and toothpaste inside it. There was also another small tray with a small medicine cup and a bottle of water next to it. Beside all of this were a few stacks of paper. The other nightstand was bare except for a phone and instructions on how to use it. There wasn’t much else to see with the curtain in the way so you shifted around on the bed, inspecting the buttons and levers and latches you found lining the four sides.

You’d just worked up the nerve to try touching one to see what would happen when you heard the door open. Your body locked up instantly but you forced yourself to move. You quickly threw yourself back against the thin mattress and rearranged the covers back to how they were before you woke up. You thought about pretending to be asleep but you didn’t have the time to settle into a comfortable position. They probably had little monitors or something that could tell if you were sleeping or not anyway. How else would the nurse know to show up right at the specific moment you woke up? The curtain slid aside and you looked up, hoping that you didn’t look too guilty. It wasn’t like you’d done anything. You just felt terribly out of place and unsure of yourself and what you should be doing.

The nurse smiled brightly at you when she saw you staring back at her with huge, bright, (color) eyes. She was very pretty if not a little plainly dressed though you suspected that had more to do with her profession than any personal desire of her own. She had curly dark brown hair striped with gold and matching dark eyes. Her skin was deeper than the typical chalky white you were used to seeing. A thin black ribbon covered with colorful polka dots was tied around her neck like a choker.

You wondered if she was the one you’d heard your father talking to earlier. It didn’t seem like someone like her would be able to stand up to someone as brazen as your father. She looked too meek for it, a character trait that you found to be incredibly annoying. Her smile hardened at the edges and became a bit more cynical as if she knew you were sizing her up and making a bad assumption about her. You recognized the look as you wore it often yourself. You had to admit she was good at hiding it. If you weren’t so familiar with the expression you might’ve missed it entirely. Seeing it made your spirit feel lighter and you returned her smile with one of your own.

“Hello!” You chirped before she could even open her mouth. It took her by surprise and you watched as she took her turn in trying to analyze you. You quirked a knowing grin and she brightened in response.

“I see we will get along just fine,” She said as she moved over to check the machines at your right side. “Which is good since we’ll be seeing a lot of each other.”

“It seems that way." She quirked a brow, unsure about which sentence you were referring to. To be honest you were talking about both of the things but this didn’t look like a temporary setup so you chose the latter. “I’m going to be here for a while, aren’t I?”

She made a noncommittal sound and moved to the other side of your bed. She looked at the medicine tray briefly before offering it to you pointedly. You took them in hand and she sat on the edge of your bed. She folded her hands into her lap over the stack of papers she took from the small table, “I can’t answer that question with any real degree of certainty since it all depends on how fast and hard everyone works, including you, but, no, you won’t be out of here for another three weeks at the very least.”

You tried not to frown. You tried to remind yourself that it was for the best; that you were here to get well enough to hopefully never need to come back for this problem again. Maybe then you could go back to running or playing baseball competitively for the first time in six years. You grinned at the thought and nodded your understanding to the nurse, “Okay, but why?”

“‘Why?’” She parroted.

“Why will it take so long? Can’t you give me more of whatever medicine this is and let me rest at home? I have school and clubs and being here will mess up my attendance.”

She smiled in sympathetic amusement, “Well, first and foremost, the medicine you’re taking is nothing special. It’s ibuprofen—though definitely a higher dosage than you’d be allowed to take outside of here—and simple cough syrup. If just taking this medicine was going to help you then it would have the last few times you were here. You don’t have a bacterial form of pneumonia so antibiotics will be largely useless in getting rid of the problem. That’s assuming pneumonia is the real problem, it could be something else and pneumonia is just a side-affect.”

“So I’m taking medicine to ease the symptoms of a sickness that could just end up being a symptom for a bigger sickness?”

She dipped her head. Her face turned serious and her speaking slowed as she tried to find a simple way to explain everything, “You need to get a few tests done to make sure you’re not just suffering from a different type of pneumonia. Viral and Walking pneumonia can take, depending on how healthy you are, between one to three weeks to recover from for light cases. Yours doesn’t seem mild at all. You’d started coughing up blood according to your father.” You weren’t sure what sort of expression crossed your face but it must’ve been disturbing. The nurse had to visibly stop herself from moving to hug you. That would have been awkward. She was still a stranger you’d just met 10 minutes ago no matter how easy she was to talk to. “We’ve seen a little of the same here but thankfully not nearly as bad as what your father described. We were hoping you could tell us your symptoms yourself as your father’s story seemed to be very…farfetched given what we’ve seen for ourselves.”

You chuckled and a slight pink tinge came to her cheeks, “It’s not that we don’t believe him, it’s only that parents tend to lose control over themselves when they see their children in the hospital and--”

Your giggling turned into laughter that predictably turned into coughs. She looked slightly panicked but you waved your hands frantically. Your coughing didn’t ease for a few longs moments but when it did, you managed a smile that hopefully didn’t show the pain you were in, “It’s okay! I’m okay, honest. I’m not going to die. Hopefully. And I’m not offended.”

“You’re not going to die,” She said firmly if not exasperatedly. You simply smiled. “Coughing up blood is serious in any amount but we really do need to know if it’s more when you’re not here. That could mean there is something in your home environment causing this. It might not be a larger problem at all and just something that needs to change at home.”

Your smile turned sympathetic, “I don’t really remember much of the last few days. Time’s all blurry for me up until now. The last thing I remember was coming home from school feeling awful. I’d been coughing a lot that day but I don’t know if there was any blood. I didn’t really think anything of it since that happens sometimes.”

She flipped through the pages and unclipped a pen from her collar, “Asthma or bronchitis?”

You blinked, “Well, I don’t know. I’ve never really been bothered by it enough to tell my dad so we could check it out.” She hummed and wrote something down. You pursed your lips. “I’m getting tested for that now, too, aren’t I?”

She snorted, “You’re getting tested for just about everything. Your father was very insistent on that. But if you _do_ have a lung condition then we can see if, like I said earlier, something at home is agitating you.” She looked up at you once she’d finished scribbling and tucked a stray hair behind her ear. “If you’re not better in a few weeks, we’ll rule out pneumonia as a sickness altogether and start looking at it as a symptom of something bigger. Does all of this make sense?”

“I’m following well enough,” You sighed.

“Good, cuz that’s all I’m going to explain for now. You’re getting sleepy again, I can see it, and we still need to get you food and moved to a new room before then.”

“Will I have a roommate?” You asked hopefully. You couldn’t bear hanging out in the hospital for who knew how long with no one to talk to.

Her brows furrowed in thought, “Uhm…It’s not likely. There’s really no one your age staying in the hospital as long as you are right now and anyone who is isn’t mentally ready for company at the moment…or ever, maybe.”

You had to laugh at that even if you were a little disappointed, “That’s okay. Maybe I could go talk to someone in the ER? ...Or maybe not…” You trailed off uncertainly at the look on your nurse’s face.

“Not until your fever goes away and you can stay awake for more than a few minutes at a time and maybe not even then,” You pouted and she took pity on you. “Ask your father to bring a few things from home for you next time he visits.”

“Can I ask for clothes?” You didn’t mind the hospital clothes, they were like pajamas and much better than the half-sheet you’d seen on TV but that didn’t mean you didn’t want your own.

“Am I going to have to watch you, [L.Name]-sama?” She said instead as she started unlatching and pulling on the levers and bars of your bed. “Because I’m sensing an intent to break a few standard rules around here, sir.”

“Well, they’re standard, right? So they’re more like guidelines anyway.”

“Of course they are." The sarcasm was real. You couldn’t see her but you were sure she was rolling her eyes. She patted your legs when she righted herself and made for the door. “Alright, you’re all ready to go. I’m going to check that your new room is ready and then I’ll be back to move you. Think about what you want to eat in the meantime.”

Your nod was interrupted by a yawn, “Oh, hey! You never told me your name!”

“That’s because you started asking questions before all the formalities were out of the way,” She teased before she turned and laced her fingers in front of her. “My name is Yuki Yuna. Some people call me Yukina. You have permission to do so, as well.” She bowed. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

Embarrassment flooded your body then and you bowed back as well as you could from your position, “Hello. My name is--”

“Not necessary. All you need to do is get better. Forget propriety, okay? It’s an unneeded stress in this world,” The last part was grumbled more to herself than to you and you giggled as you settled back against the sheets.

You tried to stay awake until she came back but time stretched on and twenty minutes later she found you curled back up in your cocoon, sleeping somewhat soundly.


	2. Over the Hills and Through the Woods

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was going to add even more to this chapter but I haven't updated this story in so long, I decided to just save the annoying parenting talks for a story that actually needed it there. This one really doesn't. The father's really only there to make the reader more realistic. Anyway! Enjoy! The next chapter is not yet written but the start of it is already sprawling itself across my mind. ~~Along with a thousand other story ideas I need to get to~~.

            To be honest, your first week in the hospital hadn’t been bad at all. Sure, the food was some ass but really that was to be expected. You hadn’t expected your father to deny you Outside food but he was being surprisingly adamant about you following all of the doctors’ orders. You weren’t spoiled but you didn’t hear the word “no” from him very often. That could be because you rarely asked for anything unreasonable but apparently good food fell into that category. Oh well; there was a first time for everything and today seemed to be full of firsts.

            You’d been in the hospital for about 11 days. They hadn’t been able to confirm anything beyond the fact that you did indeed have a weaker respiratory system that had nothing to do with what they were sure was viral pneumonia instead of the walking variety. It made breathing incredibly difficult and your oxygen levels were low enough that you were put on oxygen therapy.

           It helped with a lot more than just your breathing. You didn’t realize how much energy you were using up just trying to breathe. When your body realized it was getting help in collecting oxygen it seemed to get even weaker for a few days. You didn’t do much else other than eat and sleep. Each time you woke up you felt better but the mornings and late nights were still hard on you. Noon hours found you feeling almost great though you still coughed up crap and felt about as strong as a newborn kitten. According to Yukina it was normal. You’d been suffering from brain hypoxia as a result of viral pneumonia paired with, possibly, bronchitis. Your brain wasn’t getting enough oxygen with your lungs being hammered with two illnesses so you were suffering in your memory, concentration, and muscle strength as a result. She explained that once your oxygen levels returned to normal you would feel stronger, more level-headed, and more energetic but there was still nothing to do but wait.

           You liked to think of yourself as a fairly patient person. Boredom and the subsequent restlessness had been kept at bay up until this point. Before, you were too tired to be bothered by the lack of anything to do. When you grew too fed up you just dropped off to sleep. But, after four days of that, you found you had no more rest to catch up on. You had energy and _lots_ of it. It was okay for the next couple of days after but now you were going on 11 days in the hospital and 6 days of doing absolutely _nothing_. Your patience wasn’t that developed especially when no one could tell you when anything was likely to change. You were leaving your room _today_. If anyone found you and thought you were crazy for doing so, you’d blame it on the hypoxia.

           You didn’t think you’d ever felt this twitchy before. The last time you could remember ever being close was in elementary school and you’d always chalked it up to being a kid. You’d always assumed that your lethargy had to do with your high maturity level. You never thought that you’d felt so dull because you were sick. For all you knew, you weren’t mature at all, you’d just been too damn tired to behave like the teenager you were.

            It wasn’t hard to sneak out mostly because it wasn’t unusual for patients, especially younger ones, to leave their rooms. You were still careful just in case and made sure you left after lunch was delivered. They didn’t usually bother you again until a few hours before dinner so you were sure you could be back before anyone noticed your absence.  

            You moved slowly down the halls partially because you still didn’t have the muscle strength to walk normally and also because you hated accidently jarring the tubes sticking in your nose. The oxygen tank you used for oxygen therapy was portable, thank God—Yukina didn’t want to have to assist you in the bathroom if she didn’t have to—so you didn’t have to worry about interfering with your recovery though you had to admit you tired faster than you thought you would considering how energized you felt. It seemed you had energy that your muscles didn’t yet have the strength to support which was mildly frustrating if you allowed yourself to be pessimistic. You were just glad you managed to do something other than sit up in your room staring at nothing.

            You might’ve texted someone but school was in session. You loved your friends dearly but school was important in a way they didn’t quite grasp yet. As seasoned members of your middle school’s drama club, they assumed they had a life in showbiz and that school was just a dumb method of torture every kid had to endure before they could really live. While you didn’t _completely_ disagree, you also knew that you shouldn’t bother them. They would willingly latch onto any distraction from class and you really didn’t want your superficial weariness to get them into trouble.

           You ended up leaning against a wall, trying not to appear too winded lest you attract the attention of the ever watchful medical staff.

           There were a lot of open doors in this part of the hospital though it made sense. There weren’t a lot of patients on this floor since there weren’t many people here who needed long term care. The few who were here kept their doors shut since they needed peace and quiet. That was what all the signs and posters on the walls said anyway. You entertained a more self-conscious reason though you didn’t blame them. You wouldn’t want a random nosey passerby like yourself staring at _you_ while you had wires, tubes, and bandages sticking out in random unsightly places either.

           You sighed softly for no real reason and felt your heart begin fluttering. Your lungs felt light and while it wasn’t a bad feeling it _was_ odd. It reminded you of when you sped down the highway with the windows rolled down, trying to breathe but unable to because the wind was whipping too hard. You pressed a hand discreetly to your breast, digging the bone of your wrist into your sternum a little to relieve the pressure you felt.

 

           “Hey.”

 

            Your shoulders jumped and you quickly straightened your posture. Your mind raced with excuses, sifting through them to find one that wouldn’t make the doctors send you back to your room. You looked around for the owner of the voice but you couldn’t find them.

 

            “In here, smartness.” This voice was higher than the previous one and it immediately kindled a small flame of irritation at its condescending tone. You didn’t work very hard to conceal your displeasure when you turned around to peer into the room you’d heard the voices come from. Your eyes—usually bright and open—were sharp and glittering much like a beautiful polished knife when you locked eyes with your addressor.

 

           Turns out there were two. You weren’t sure which one you noticed first since they both possessed very striking features. One would grow up to be very fierce and incredibly handsome as it showed through very strongly already. He was closest to the window, furthest from the door. He reminded you of a lion and he even had the proud, regal air and posture you pictured when you thought of the animal. His eyes were intense, narrow, tastefully slanted, and the prettiest blue you’d ever seen on a person. It wasn’t that cliché sky or ocean blue either but a dark cobalt or maybe even closer to indigo. He had _a lot_ of russet hair and it looked like it was very thick, too. There were two strange marks under his eyes—you couldn’t tell if it was a tattoo or stickers or even make-up but whatever it was, it looked very nice on him. Despite how powerful he looked, he didn’t feel the same. You didn’t doubt that he had the capability because you could see hints of muscle even through the baggy hospital clothes he was wearing but he wasn’t flaunting it. It seemed as if he’d turned it off for the moment—a resting lion rather than one actively hunting. He was sitting up, gazing at you intently, but his roommate was lying down.

            This one had the prettiest coloration you’d ever come across though it was so weird you wondered if it was natural. His hair was a pastel shade of cyan. It was long and draped over his shoulders though his fringe had been carelessly (artfully?) clipped just enough to allow him to see. His eyes, or the one you could see, were sharp and the color was one you had trouble describing. Plainly you supposed it could be called orange but there was a golden tint to it that made you want to call it fulvous but not as bright so more like ochre maybe. His burlywood complexion really tied the colors together, “What are you doing creeping about outside our room?”

 

            _Creeping? The Hell?_ You shook your head and adopted a slightly apologetic expression, “Sorry. I didn’t know anyone was in this one. Sorry for disturbing you.”

 

            “So, what, you hang around empty hospital rooms?” You didn’t know him well enough to be sure but you could swear he sounded a bit freaked out. “Doing what?”

 

            “Definitely not! I just needed to catch my breath, that’s all,” you explained. “And anyway, wouldn’t it be better if I hung around empty rooms instead of ones with people in it?” You sure as hell wouldn’t feel comfortable with someone lurking around just because you were inside your room rather than mistaking it for empty.

 

            The brunette you were dubbing Mufasa tipped his head to the side ever so slightly, “That’s true.”

 

           You waited for them to say something else but neither one did. Mufasa continued to look at you intently but the other boy turned his attention away completely. After a while Mufasa spoke up albeit a little hesitantly. Not self-consciously but more like he was pondering something that confused him, “…Did you want to come in?”

 

            “Not really,” you said honestly.

 

            Perhaps a bit too honestly, you thought as you took in their expressions of muted surprise. You hadn’t meant to say the first thing that popped into your head but you couldn’t bring yourself to feel bad about it either. You didn’t know these people. For all you knew, _they_ were the crazy ones just waiting to lure you into some kind of trap. Stranger things _have_ happened. Maybe not to you but they certainly did happen and you were sure you were spared mostly because you were so cautious, “Do _you_ want me to come in?”

 

            Mufasa started to lift a shoulder in a shrug but aborted the action with a harsh wince. You frowned. You knew you were in the hospital but it sort of went to the back of your mind that they were here, too. There wasn’t much you could do but you still asked instinctively, “You okay?”

 

            “Yes, thank you.” His voice sounded a little strained. His roommate noticed too and you were surprised to see that his face had shifted to one of profound worry. They clearly weren’t just two random people put in a room together. You didn’t think the pirate king was kind enough to care about a random person thrown in a room with him. Your curiosity was peaked just a little so you asked:

 

            “What happened to you?”

 

            “You don’t know? It was all over the news.” There was bitterness in Captain Cyan’s tone. Or maybe it was embarrassment? Anger, perhaps, or possibly disappointment?

 

            “Unfortunately my room isn’t hooked up to cable so…”

 

            That caught his attention, “How long have you been here?”

 

            “Our…accident”—Mufasa struggled to find that word and you guessed it wasn’t really the one he wanted to use for whatever it was they were talking about but you didn’t press—“isn’t old but it’s not that recent. It’s kind of weird that you haven’t heard of it.” He explained. You simply stared back at him. You didn’t know what they expected you to say. You _hadn’t_ heard of it though that was hardly your fault. “Do you like soccer?”

 

            Your eyebrows twitched at the random question but you answered anyway with a shrug, “I don’t know.” You elaborated when it seemed that answer wasn’t good enough. “I don’t really like watching sports. It’s not as fun as playing yourself and since I can’t play much of anything, well…” No words were spoken but you had the feeling they were nodding their heads in understanding. Well _you_ were still lost, “I’m sorry but what has that got to do with how you ended up in the hospital?”

 

            Cyan worked up the nerve to smile at you though you still found it to be a bit mocking, “Sure you don’t want to sit?”

 

            You pursed your lips before deciding to go ahead. It wasn’t like you had anything else to do. He huffed a quiet laugh probably at your facial expression and you smiled before you could catch yourself.

 

            “I’m [Full Name], by the way,” You said as you found a chair. “If we’re going to get into storytelling, you should at least know my name, right?”

 

            Mufasa’s lips quirked the tiniest bit upwards as he introduced himself, “My name is Koujirou Genda and this is Jirou Sakuma. We go to Teikoku Gakuen. We were participating in a championship for soccer called the Football Frontier. It was the nationals which basically means we were competing to see which middle school was the best team in the country.” His miniscule smile disappeared then. “We were doing fine until we came up against this new school. They didn’t go through the District competitions like everyone else so we didn’t really know what to expect from them. We’d never seen them play before, we’d never seen them at _all_ before, but they were definitely stronger than we were.” You didn’t get why he said “stronger” instead of “better” but you supposed it was a soccer term and kept quiet.

 

            “Since you’re not into soccer you most likely don’t know this but Teikoku is- _was_ the strongest soccer team in Japan for the last 40 years. This _new_ team was so strong that they scored 10 points in the first half without letting us touch the ball even once,” Your eyes widened at that. Though you didn’t know much about soccer, you did know that soccer matches went on for a _long_ time. It was pretty uncommon for goals to be made and a lot of matches ended in 0-0 so for a team to land 10 right in the beginning with seemingly no opposition was...

 

           “They were brutal. Our team was no match for them and before halftime came they ended the game with the other team as the winner. Our own players were too hurt to keep going,” Genda explained when it became clear Sakuma wouldn’t say anything else. He seemed to find some words to add though and this time there was no mistaking how upset he was by their situation.

 

            “They were hurt so badly they couldn’t even move. They had to be carried off the field.”

 

            “Wow…That…That really _sucks_ …I’m so sorry,” Sadness filled your heart and the looks on their faces only made it worse. Your throat tightened a little. You weren’t a soccer player but you knew what it felt like to be so outclassed and humiliated by another team. It happened often enough in performing arts competitions. You couldn’t count how many times you had to offer your shoulders to the members of your school’s drama, music, choral, and dance clubs when things turned sour.

 

            “How could that happen though? Aren’t there rules against brutality or foul play or something?” Genda tipped his head and you frowned, “I see.” You sighed heavily and dropped your head back to stare at the ceiling. “Sometimes it happens like that. I know that’s not something anyone wants to hear—shit, I hate it, too—but at least you tried, you know? Seeing other people’s strength can be infuriating when it’s not on your side but that doesn’t mean you can’t get to their level, too. This time just wasn’t your time. That doesn’t mean it won’t ever be your time it just means you’ve got to be ready next time your chance comes around and wow I said the word “time” a lot in that.”

 

            They didn’t laugh as they were too preoccupied with their thoughts but you didn’t mind. In fact you smiled a bit wickedly, “Still, if you’re feeling as vindictive as I think you are, everyone knows there’s only one place to go once you go up as high as you can. Newton’s law of gravity and all that.”

 

            That seemed to lighten the mood just a little. Sakuma crossed his arms over his chest though you could see the move caused him great pain. You didn’t know exactly how they got as hurt as they did but sports often lead to painful things directly or otherwise. You weren’t sure you wanted the dirty descriptive details, “Hopefully Raimon can knock them down a few pegs. God knows they need it.”

 

            “Nice pun,” Genda said with wry amusement. Sakuma’s bronze eye widened in abject horror but his response was drowned out by yours and Genda’s combined laughter. You didn’t understand the joke but Sakuma’s reaction was hilarious enough on its own. When it calmed a little, Genda spoke again. He seemed much happier now though you couldn’t see it on his face. It was all in the eyes. “Why are you here?”

 

            “Funny. I was wondering the exact same thing.”

 

            All of you jumped at the sound of a new voice that appeared out of nowhere. You recognized it as Yukina’s though you’d never heard her sound so upset. Not with you, anyway. Usually it was directed at your father when he was being too difficult.

 

            “Who’s that?” Sakuma muttered under his breath.

 

            “My nurse,” you answered. Yukina pursed her lips as she squinted at you.

 

            “Well?” She prompted testily.

 

            “Hypoxia.” You declared loudly with as much conviction as you could muster with your heart fluttering as fast as it was. You hoped you weren’t in too much trouble. Seriously, you’d thought you’d run into a random staff worker when you used that excuse; not your insanely perceptive nurse who carved through lies like a chainsaw through butter.

 

            Her face blanked, “…Are you serious?” She asked incredulously. She shook her head and moved towards you. “Let’s go.”

 

            “No way! You lied to me!” You squeaked as a last line of defense. It seemed to work. She hesitated and regarded you curiously.

 

            “Hypoxia, indeed…,” she muttered under her breath before she cocked her hand on her hip. “How, [Name]-sama? How on earth did I lie to you?”

 

            You felt like a toddler being indulged in conversation by an adult. It irritated you, to be honest. You’d never known yourself to get angry over little things like that before though, “You said there was no one else here my age for me to room with!”

 

             “There wasn’t at the time.” The look on the woman’s face told you this should have been obvious. “If I’m not mistaken, they’ve only just been admitted as long-term patients maybe a week ago.”

 

             “Actually, it was 11 days ago,” Genda chimed in as politely as someone butting into a conversation possibly could. “We’ve been getting treatment much longer though.”

 

            Yukina’s dark brows rose in surprise while your own lowered in annoyance, “My mistake.” She conceded gracefully. It wasn’t possible for her to know _everything_ after all. “But you’re still leaving. You’re not strong enough to be out of bed yet.”

 

            You couldn’t exactly disagree when you remembered how much energy it took you just to walk down a few halls. That didn’t change how you felt though, so you whined, “But I’m _bored_ , Yukina!”

 

            “I don’t think you understand: your father’s here and I don’t have time to deal with _two--_ ” And then she sighed heavily, muttering to herself as her eyes rolled to the ceiling exasperatedly. “Look, we can come back later if you really want to but for now, we’re leaving so come on.”

 

            “Yeah, whatever.”

 

            “Look on the bright side: at least you’ve got someone visiting you,” Sakuma tossed into the air as he slumped back down against his sheets.

 

            You snorted, “It’s just my father. All he’s going to do is lecture me on one thing or another and dump a load of schoolwork in my lap.” You rose to your feet with more difficulty than you’d like to admit. The irritation in Yukina’s eyes gave way to concern as she moved to support you.

 

            “I told you to ask him to bring something. Don’t you have anything you can’t bear to be parted with?”

 

            If you were a materialistic person you might’ve. You could think of a few things you missed seeing around but it was more out of a need for familiarity than any desire to actually have it. No, you placed your value in people. You needed others to stay sane, not objects. You didn’t miss your phone: you missed taking pictures of your friends being silly on it. You didn’t miss your TV: you missed watching old home videos with your father. You didn’t miss your videogames or your consoles or your handhelds or your toys: you missed the people they brought along.

            …Though maybe not that last one because you _did_ miss Sonic and Mario and Link. So maybe you’d ask him for those.

 

            “Yeah, I guess,” you sighed before turning to your new…well, they weren’t friends yet were they? “See you, Genda-san, Sakuma-san. You don’t mind if I come back do you?”

 

            “Not as long as you don’t turn into a creepy hospital-door stalker.” You could hear the grin in the exotic boy’s voice. Heat ran into your cheeks as indignation flared in your chest.

 

            “Yeah, whatever.” Clearly that was going to be a running joke and you weren’t exactly looking forward to it. Still, you kind of wanted to hear more about their soccer team. You weren’t that into sports anymore but it wasn’t often you got to interact with national champions either.

 

            “What was that about?” Yukina inquired as she helped you out of their room and down the hall.

 

            You hummed thoughtfully. You could tell her what the joke was but then you’d have to explain how it got to that point. You’d have to admit to her that you still got winded easily and that breathing was still somewhat painful even with the extra oxygen and then she’d get concerned and impose even more rules on you and then you’d _really_ be stuck even though you’d only _just_ managed to find something to look forward to doing in this place so…, “Nothing.”

 

            It was her turn to hum. Clearly she didn’t believe you at all but she didn’t have anything to go on either so she dropped it for now. Instead, she focused on getting you to your room as quickly as possible without straining your body. It was a feat in itself especially since you were starting to feel sluggish and sleepy again. It burned away in a flash when you neared your door and saw the tall (well, taller than you anyway) figure standing outside your door. Your throat dried out and you sent a nervous glance up at your nurse, “So…He’s not in a bad mood is he?”

 

            Irritation immediately settled over her face as she spotted your father, “I wouldn’t know what a good mood looks like on him.” The fact that she disliked the man so much shouldn’t have been as funny as it was. Still, you couldn’t work up any laughter since the man in question really didn’t look very pleased at all. You were already likely to hear it from your little escapade; he didn’t need to see you having fun over top of that. It would just make you look reckless and that would only make things worse.

 

            “…[Name].” He said stiffly as he tried to take you from Yukina’s arms. She ignored his attempt and kept right on hobbling with you until you reached your bed.

 

            “Hi, Dad,” you offered back as you were reattached to your monitors and tubing. Your anxiety over messing with them had long since disappeared after watching Yukina manipulate them so many times a day.

 

            Your father didn’t respond. There were so many things he wanted to say he didn’t even know where to start. The tension thickened as the silence stretched on. It wasn’t hostile, just awkward with Yukina there so you assumed he didn’t want to discuss anything in her presence. She wasn’t interested in staying too much longer anyway.

 

            With a mental sigh, you resigned yourself to your fate.


	3. Locked Down

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay! I finally got this chapter finished! It's been a long time coming but it's finally here. And I think that's about all the chitchat you need from me so onward with the story. :)

            He used homework as a punishment.

            He didn’t outwardly say as much but you knew passive aggression when you saw it.

            Normally you would have laughed at your father’s simple notion--because seriously? Your teachers did the same thing on a semi-daily basis and it got them absolutely nowhere!—but being out of school for over a week meant you had a fairly large stack piling up. You didn’t exactly want to fail either so you resigned yourself to your misery.

            The best thing about having homework and being stuck in the hospital at the same time was that you could pass out whenever you got too overwhelmed. There wasn’t a teacher to scream at you to stay awake or try harder and no father to bore holes into your skull looking for imperfections.

            The worst part was that it was still unbearably boring—even more so now that you didn’t have anything else to do and no one to share your pain with. You hadn’t dared to ask your father to bring you anything fun to do after his lecture--especially not when he went so far as to take your phone away from you, too. His reasoning was you already had one in your room so there wasn’t a need for two. He already knew your room number and anyone you needed to call would surely be memorized if they were that important.

            Right.

            Because he didn’t know that no one bothered with address books anymore.

            Yeah, okay.

            You weren’t an idiot and neither was he. The more you thought about it, the more suspicious you became of the lack of cable in your room, too.

            Still, that was all idle speculation that did nothing to spirit away your workload. Not that it really mattered. You yourself were spacing out and drawing chibis in your margins instead of crunching numbers or memorizing history.

            A light tapping on your door drew your attention away from your pathetic attempts at art. You glanced up impassively, fully expecting a cleaning crewmember or a technician or even your nurse. She’d taken to checking on you every ten minutes or so after your little escapade.

            You weren’t at all surprised to see the lunch man rolling passed with his cart full of covered plastic trays laden with food. A quick glance at the analog clock hanging on your wall confirmed that it was indeed almost two hours passed noon.

            Usually meals were delivered with very little fanfare. Depending on who was on duty, you’d choose your meals way in advance or you could choose as they appeared at your door. Sometimes there wasn’t a choice at all and you were simply to make do with what was given you. That was usually only on doctors’ orders though and as exciting as meal times got when your father wasn’t around.

            You sat up a little straighter, happy to cast your schoolwork into the crushing grip of oblivion even if it was only metaphorically and only for a moment.

            The foodman smiled and greeted you as he usually did when he brought you food. He never asked how you were; it was a question he’d learned to avoid with long-term patients and instead inquired of your level of hunger or boredom. The last couple of days you’d taken it upon yourself to come up with weird responses just to see if you could make him drop that pleasant but hopelessly plastic smile. You’d failed. Obviously he’d seen weirder things than you lurking about this hospital.

            Usually he left after providing you with utensils so you were mildly surprised to see him return with a small napkin. You didn’t see why when you already had a couple of your own. A quick glance down proved what you already knew but you accepted the dry wipe anyway. You eyed both him and the flimsy paper suspiciously when he smiled again and slowly left your room.

            Maybe he’d done something to it? Was there snot or a booger? It wouldn’t be terribly professional but you could hardly blame someone for getting back at you after all the provocations you’d engaged in no matter how harmless. That didn’t seem quite right considering his level of patience but you decided to proceed with caution anyway.

            A millisecond into your deep investigation revealed sloppily scrawled handwriting that read:

 

**_Hey, what gives? I thought you were supposed to come back_ **

****

            The napkin clearly made writing a bit difficult if the tiny tears and ink blots were any indication. Reading it wasn’t so smooth either. Still, you knew who it was even without trying to match writing styles. It wasn’t like you’d seen their handwriting to begin with anyway. Not that it took much to connect the dots considering your super long list of totally awesome and exciting endeavors. You couldn’t easily forget people who looked like them, anyway but still.

            Your brows rose in surprise.

            Honestly between the two of them you would have thought Genda would be more willing to write than Sakuma…

            …whom had apparently written his own missive underneath in a much smoother more legible print:

****

**_You’re still here, aren’t you? Did you get in trouble?_ **

****

            The end of his words flew off randomly and jaggedly across the napkin as if someone had snatched it from underneath his hand while he was still writing. The messier, almost harried in comparison, variant of Sakuma’s script showed up immediately below with:

 

**_U didnt die, rite?_ **

****

            You might have snorted dirisively if it wasn’t such an honest possibility. Instead you snagged your notebook—eager to take down something other than notes or numbers—and flipped to a clean page.

            You’d admit you were thrown off by the fact that they even wanted to continue with what you accidently started in the first place. You were certainly pleased but it wasn’t really necessary, was it? They were already friends or at least teammates. Surely between each other they had better things to do than wonder about you? They even had cable!

            Sakuma for his part must be really bored if he bothered to take part in what was already a very unexpected note. He hadn’t seemed nearly as interested in conversing with you as Genda who hadn’t exactly been jumping for joy either.

            At the very top of your page you scribbled:

 

_**No i’m not dead. I’m just grounded for a couple days. Sorry. :/ :P xP**_

****

            You frowned at your tiny response. It seemed hopelessly short but you couldn’t think of anything else to say. You didn’t want to jump the gun and dive into storytelling just in case they weren’t really interested in what you had to say. On the flip side, you also didn’t want to seem too dismissive either because honestly you were bored and you _really_ wanted the distraction.

            In the end you decided not to worry about it. If it all went to hell you could always ignore them. After all you knew where their room was, not the other way around.

            And yet that rose the question of how they found your room number to deliver their message in the first place. Flipping the napkin over—even opening it up--didn’t reveal any instructions for the food man…Curious, you decided to add that in as your second line:

 

_**Didn’t think there was postal service in the hospital. How’d you manage that?**_

****

            ‘ _There,_ ’ you thought to yourself as you tore out the sheet and folded it up. ‘ _Now, they have something to respond to_.’

 

            Ironically you ran into the very same problem as the one you inquired about when you turned your attention to actually delivering the letter (if it could even be called that).

            The solution came quickly enough. Honestly it wasn’t like you had an abundance of options.

            Either you waited until dinner time to pass your note to the food deliverer and hope he either hit your room first or was willing to backtrack to theirs…or you abuse your nurse-call button.

            You didn’t dare leave your room again. You weren’t _that_ stupid after all. You’d at least wait for everyone to forgive you first before you did it again. Besides lunch only _just_ came and you were hungry. It wouldn’t make any sense at all to take it yourself anyway. Then, you could just say it out loud to their faces instead of tossing them a slip of paper.

 

            Despite your resolution, your heart fluttered when you heard Yukina’s footsteps close in on you. You made a show of looking innocent--a dutiful albeit hospitalized schoolboy trying his hardest to succeed. You couldn’t tell if she bought it or not when the first thing out of her mouth was, “I’m not helping you with your homework” in a tone that was both firm and exasperated.

 

            You thought about playing a bit more but really you were rather impatient to send off your note and have it come back so you rolled your eyes and sniffed, “That wasn’t what I was going to ask.”

 

            She snorted, crossed her arms, and checked that your bedframe was secure before leaning against it arrogantly, “Uh-huh. Yeah, sure.”

 

            “It wasn’t!” You couldn’t deny the thought never crossed your mind though. A part of you insisted that begging would make her cave but you weren’t willing to be reduced to that yet. “Seriously! I need you to take this to Genda and Sakuma’s room.”

 

            You held up the paper you’d folded into quarters and smiled.

 

            “You mean the room I found you in when you decided to jump the fence?” It sounded like a question but you knew she didn’t want an answer.

            She eyed both you and it suspiciously not unlike you had when the foodman gave you your napkin. It was actually kind of funny except for the part where she started to shake her head ‘no’.

 

            “Please?” You implored and leaned a little towards her.

 

            Your eagerness proved disturbing rather than persuasive. You might have been insulted if you hadn’t given her reason to doubt you so soon. Her brown eyes narrowed even further and flickered to your note. A warning tingle ran up your spine far too late. Before you could retract your hand, she’d swiped the note and turned away to examine it, “What are you planning?”

 

            You rolled your eyes again, “Nothing! They sent me a note so I’m sending one back.”

 

            You weren’t sure why you felt so embarrassed about her reading your words. It wasn’t like you’d really said anything…

            You huffed irritably when she hummed quietly and made of show of tucking the refolded paper into her shirt pocket, “Yet. You haven’t done anything _yet_. I’m watching you from now on, [Name].”

 

            “Do you need anything else before I leave?” She continued as she sauntered leisurely towards the door.

 

            “You’re taking the note?”

 

            “Obviously.”

 

            You frowned. Somehow that didn’t sound right. “I mean to them. You’re going to give it to them?”

 

            Her eyes flashed a little when she glanced over her shoulder for the last time. “Did you need anything else?” She repeated more firmly and you sighed dejectedly.

 

            “No, I guess not,” you murmured and started picking at your lunch.

 

            And just like that the ripple in what was quickly becoming your daily routine was forgotten. The hazy waves of academia rose above your head and crashed over your body. The force was so strong it dragged you to into the dim places where you saw and didn’t see, read and didn’t read. Nothing really made sense but you continued steadily deeper because what else was there? The clock proved useless and irritating. Every hopeful glance upwards was stained by the crushing truth that precious little time had passed at all. You didn’t know why the hell the time mattered so much. It wasn’t like you didn’t have an abundance of it and nothing was likely to change in any case. That didn’t stop you from glancing up at it every 15 minutes.

            When Yukina returned (again for like the thousandth time) you largely ignored her, assuming that she was just coming to check on you and drop off your meds. You were right of course but she also came bearing gifts. Or, rather, just one and it wasn’t so much a gift as a response though you’d still treat it like one.

            It wasn’t even Yukina who returned it to you, rather it was another nurse—a man—who Yukina seemed to have been expecting considering how long she lingered and how nonplussed she was with his sudden appearance.

            Despite being much larger than her physically, he felt much smaller than her. Yukina’s presence while not overwhelming was definitely noticeable and decidedly…prickly. His was so small and meek that it was impossible to not notice; not because he was so big but because he seemed so _sweet_. You couldn’t decide if you wanted to be annoyed or enamored by this anomaly and instead focused on the sheet he handed over with his small bemused smile:

 

_**Oh that’s good then.** _

            Genda, you suspected.

****

_**What’d u get in trouble for?** _

****

            Definitely Sakuma. He seemed like the direct, inquisitive type.

**_We asked our nurse at first but he didn’t know you._ **

            You were confused by this seemingly random divergence until you reread what you’d sent to them. There was a pause between the lines wherein you guessed Genda wasn’t being specific enough for Sakuma’s tastes so he snatched the paper away only for it to be snatched back and forth so often that you couldn’t tell who wrote which of the following. There were several jagged arcs scattered throughout the next bits of scribbles as the writers unwillingly switched turns. You ended up reading something like:

 

_**We were talkin about it when lunch came and the man heard us and knew who we were talking about so we wrote that and he gave it 2 u. He says ur really funny— ~~Lies.~~ **~~**He says you’re weird as fu** ~~ (scribble, scribble) ~~**He didnt say it like that dont worr** ~~ (scribble) ~~-~~~ ** ~~Yes he did he said~~** (scribble!) ** ~~but in a funny wa~-Ignore him he’s~~~**_

 

            The further down you went the more scrambled and _scribbled_ and generally illegible the note became. You were much too impatient to bother with the mass of ink and instead skipped to the very bottom of the warped paragraph where the note ended with a simple:

 

**_How are you today?_ **

           

            For a while you could only laugh.

            You hadn’t expected this at all. For all you knew, Yukina could have thrown your little square away or maybe giggled about it secretly with the others in the nurses’ station. That certainly seemed more likely than her helping you get into even more trouble even if that wasn’t what you were actually doing.

            Still, you didn’t want to waste time. The nurse had lingered long enough for you to assume he would take your reply back but that didn’t mean he would wait forever. He probably had loads of other things to do besides playing yahoo messenger. You decided to start from the bottom up since their last question was the freshest one in your mind:

 

_**I’m fine. I’m bored. How about you?**_

**_I got in trouble cuz I snuck out my room too soon :P_ **

**_I’m gonna do it again though i already know it.  just maybe not til i finish bein in trouble for this last time_ **

_**P.S. for the record, I’m ignoring all of that earlier stuff** _

            You hesitated, unsure of what to write next and in the end decided that it was good enough for now and sent it off. You adamantly ignored the knowing smile Yukina paraded around your room with.

 

            It didn’t take as long to get a reply this time. You guessed it had something to do with the nurses’ corroboration. Naturally they didn’t spend their entire time passing notes back and forth. There were other patients and certainly other work to do but the conversation was surprisingly steady all the same:

 

**_Do you want a truthful answer? Cuz to b honest we feel like shit. How long are u in trouble for?_ **

**_Uh…I don’t know. Probably until i can finish this huge mountain of schoolwork my dad left me. Sorry about you feelin’ bad. Are you takin’ pain meds?_ **

**_Yeah. That’s why we feel like shit. like a freakin’ fruit loop half the time. like nothing is really real. like I’m out of it half the time…_ **

            A little ways down Genda chimed in with:

**_Basically, the medication makes us really sleepy but we’re not tired so it sucks._ **

****

            You don’t know why but you felt like eye-rolling should have accompanied the missive though you couldn’t imagine Genda actually doing it.

 

**_Ha! You could always help me with my homework. >:}_ **

****

**_Gee. Thanks. >.>_ **

**_Yeah… Even if we could get out of bed I’d still decline._ **

****

**_Hey it was worth a shot okay?_ **

**_and if you’re so bored why don’t you watch that cable tv that I definitely don’t have_ **

****

**_U know I can’t be sure but i think ur jealous >;P_ **

**_There’s nothing good on right now._ **

****

**_You’re not one of those people who thinks the only good thing to watch on tv is sports are you?_ **

****

**_‘Course not but the news is just depressing! >:(  It shouldn’t even be allowed in the hospital. _ **

_**Seriously.** _

            You wanted to say ‘ _I still think ur suffering for no reason_ ’ but you didn’t know how well they’d take it and the last thing you wanted to do was offend the only source of entertainment you had at the moment so instead you expressed your amusement and changed the subject.

            Time passed quickly like this and before you knew it dinner had come and Yukina was preparing to go home. She had conducted her very last check of your vitals and machines and was changing all the info on your board with a dry-erase marker for the next nurse.

 

            “All right, (Name), I’m gone for the day. Have a good night.”

 

            “‘Night, Yuki-chan…,” You offered distractedly. You still had history dates to memorize after all. But then the situation dawned on you and you called out to her frantically before your door shut completely. “H-Hey wait! Who’s gonna send my messages now?”

 

            She brunette shrugged indifferently, “I guess you’ll have to strike a deal with your overnight watch.” You scowled and she wiggled her fingers as she turned away. Before she left for good though, she stuck her head in the door one last time and sent you a Grinch-like smile. “Or you could, yknow, _use the phone_. Every room has one.”

 

            Your mouth fell open slowly as she giggled mercilessly. A blush rose up high in your cheeks and you covered your face with your hands, “I’m an idiot.”

 

            “Nah. It’s just the hypoxia,” she quipped and laughed loudly when you pressed your palm against your forehead.

 

            “Just go home already,” you moaned.

 

            She snorted but complied, “Until next time!”

****

**Author's Note:**

> The next chapter is largely completed. I'm just going over it again and again to make sure it's exactly how I want it to be before I put it up. Sakuma and Genda make their first appearance in this chapter.


End file.
